


to pick up the pieces

by moggin



Series: a non-festive december mcyt prompt list [6]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Heavy Angst, Hospitals, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:41:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27933262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moggin/pseuds/moggin
Summary: tommy's parents die in a house fire and he doesn't know what to do with himself. wilbur comes to help, and invites phil to help too.prompt: family/friend death, hurt/comfort
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: a non-festive december mcyt prompt list [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2038111
Comments: 6
Kudos: 131





	to pick up the pieces

It took a short while for Tommy to realize what the doctor had just said. They’re dead. Both of his parents, and his dog, are dead.

About an hour before, Tommy had smelled something funky. He voiced his concern to his parents, who concluded that the funky smell was smoke, and it took them a collective three minutes to realize their ceiling was filling with smoke and it was coming from under the front door. 

His mom said there was a fire in the hallway, and in a brilliant moment of word association he said “that is not lit fam”. His father gave him a sharp look, a mix of ‘what the hell kind of child am I raising’ and ‘not the time’, and Tommy didn’t say anything else. 

Everything after that was a blur of smoke and fog and banging and his heart pounding in his ears, and he vaguely remembered his father opening the front door just in time for something in the hallway to explode. He didn’t see them after that, since some of the soot that was floating in the air got in his eyes. 

The next thing he remembered, he was at a hospital, being treated by a nurse. When he asked for his parents, she gave him a pitiful smile and his dad’s wallet. He was confused, but not really. He had put the pieces together, but he wanted so badly for it not to be true that he could almost convince himself.

A doctor in a classic pristine white coat approached him, giving him something for his eye and taking a seat next to him. He broke the news as gently as he could, but Tommy wasn’t going to accept that. The doctor didn’t press the issue further, asking if he had any contacts. His grandparents had died a while ago, and his parents were both only children, so no. He didn’t have any relatives to contact. He didn’t tell the doctor that, though, so he said he would be fine and the doctor nodded. Tommy left the hospital with an odd feeling in his stomach, but he was mostly numb. He wasn’t ready to process what had just happened.

He felt a vibration in his pocket. Right, he had put his phone there before everything went downhill. He was glad he had some form of connection to the internet. He pulled out the sleek black slab of metal, just holding it for a couple of seconds. The coolness of the material was soothing, and he didn’t know why. 

When he opened his eyes(when had he closed them?) he turned on his phone and saw that Wilbur had DM’d him. He walked over to a small metal bench next to the road and sat with his back to the traffic before opening his phone. 

WilburSoot: hey dude r u gonna stream tn

It really was a simple message. Nothing personal, nothing crazy. Just a fellow streamer asking if he was streaming. Why did that message make his throat close up? 

WilburSoot: ik u erad my message it says youre online  
WilburSoot: read*

Tommy stared at the little white letters. No, he wasn’t streaming tonight. He’d be lucky if he had a home after this, let alone a functioning gaming setup.

WilburSoot: Tommy?

He didn’t want Wilbur to worry. He didn’t need to be making people worry. This was his problem, not theirs, and why hasn’t the weight of it hit him yet? His parents were _dead_. His home had been burned to the ground and everything he ever knew was a big pile of ash. He took his dad’s wallet out from where it was snugly tucked into his pocket. He unfolded the soft leather and looked in it. His dad had fourteen pounds and a few coins, as well as a photo of Tommy when he was in grade school. 

Tommy looked at the picture, letting the nostalgia it brought wash over him before he folded the wallet and put it back in his pocket. His phone started vibrating continuously, and he saw Wilbur was calling him. He debated picking up, but decided that not picking up would be kinda weirdchamp of him and pressed the green button. He raised the phone to his ear.

Wilbur spoke first, his british voice blaring through the small speaker. “Tommy! Why aren’t you answering my messages- are you outside?”

Tommy guessed he heard the cars behind him. They definitely weren’t quiet. “Yeah, I’m outside.”

“Oh, you must be busy I’ll call you back lat-”

“I’m not busy.” Tommy didn’t know what he sounded like. He didn’t sound normal, that’s for sure, but he also didn’t sound too bad, he didn’t think. He definitely didn’t sound like someone who had just basically witnessed the death of both his parents. That still hadn’t really hit him yet.

“Tommy, are your parents there?”

“Technically they’re nearby.” 

“Okay, um… Are you okay? You sound….. weird. Did something happen?”

Tommy debated answering honestly. He didn’t want Wilbur to worry, but he also knew that Wilbur would want to worry for him in this situation. “I guess. Are you free right now?”

“Like to meet up?”

“Yeah.”

“Tommy you live so far away, why do you want to meet up right now? Plus it’s late, and would your parents let you go right now? Who’s gonna drive you here?”

“Well, I mean, I don’t have a car,” _or parents,_ “so I was thinking you could come and pick me up.”

“Tommy, please at least ask your parents. I’m not gonna drive an hour and a half for you to tell me your parents said no.”

“Something happened. I can’t ask them right now.” _Or talk to them ever again._

There was a pause, a moment where Wilbur’s voice didn’t filter into his ears louder than the traffic behind him. “Tommy, what happened to your parents?”

The question hung heavy in the air for a brief moment before Tommy sighed. “My house burned down. They didn’t make it. I would have bought a train ticket into Brighton instead of asking you to come all the way over here but I have fourteen pounds to my name and tickets are twenty.”

Wilbur went silent. He was clearly shocked. “Tommy….” The name was said in disbelief, quiet and breathy, life he hadn’t intended for it to slip out. “I’m coming. I’ll be there as fast as possible. Where are you right now?”

Tommy looked around at his surroundings, his eye catching the sign outside the hospital. “Endbrook Hospital. I’m on a bench outside.”

“Okay.” Tommy heard shuffling in the background, the jingling of keys and then a door shutting. “I’m on my way.” Wilbur’s voice now had an echo, and Tommy assumed he was in the hallway. “Do you want to stay on the call?”

“Sure. Do you mind if I don’t really talk?” Tommy hated how he sounded. He sounded small, fragile, and confused. He sounded weak. 

“Of course not. Go for it.”

The next hour was spent zoning out, listening to Wilbur humming along to some tunes he was playing quietly on his car radio, and fiddling with his hands.

It didn’t feel like an hour and a half had passed before Wilbur was speaking to him again. “I’m here. Where are you?”

“Uhh, I’m by a tree and a road. There’s a red truck parked.”

“Red truck… red truck… oh, I see it. I’m gonna hang up.”

“Okay.” Tommy put his phone in his pocket after glancing at his phone battery, which was in surprisingly decent shape after being on the phone for an hour and a half. He left his hand in his pocket, fingers on his dad's wallet. A few moments passed before he saw Wilbur running towards him.

He waved to the man, but Wilbur didn’t wave back. The taller man ran up to Tommy and immediately wrapped him in a tight hug. Tommy was surprised by the gesture, but realized that usually if someone just lost both their parents, they would be sad. The numbness from before hadn’t subsided, and he almost didn’t want it to. It was serving as a dam holding back a massive emotional breakdown and he didn’t think he wanted Wilbur to have to deal with that. He feebly wrapped his arms around Wilbur, too, breathing in his cozy scent. 

Wilbur pulled back first. “Tommy, how are you out here in a t-shirt? It’s cold.”

Really? He hadn’t noticed. “Oh.”

Wilbur wordlessly took off his brown leather jacket. It was lined on the inside and was built kind of like a puffer coat. It looked very warm. Tommy accepted it and a wave of warmth washed throughout his entire body, leaving him tingling but happy. He slipped his arms into the heavy coat and Wilbur motioned for him to follow him. 

When they got to Wilbur’s car, the taller man opened the door to the passenger’s seat before walking around the car and slipping into the driver’s seat. He didn’t acknowledge how broken Tommy looked. Like emotion had just stopped working, having gone into overdrive. The blonde stared out the window and scooted down in his chair, putting his knees on the dashboard and his back on the seat. Wilbur told him to sit up, since his neck was at a weird angle and if the car lurched he might break it.

Tommy wordlessly obeyed, sitting up.

“Do you want to sit in the back? You could take a nap.”

Tommy thought that idea actually sounded pretty nice, so he nodded and got out of the car, shutting the front door and opening the back one before clambering into the backseat. He lay down on his side, fastening the seat belt awkwardly over himself. Wilbur adjusted the rearview mirror so he could see Tommy, and proceeded to step on the gas. 

Tommy fell asleep pretty quickly.

Another hour and a half later, Wilbur was gently shaking Tommy awake, leaning into the car from outside. Tommy blinked, taking a moment to regain his memories. He nodded, mostly to himself, before sitting up and stepping out of the car. Wilbur closed the door behind him, locking the car and started leading him to where his house was. 

“My apartment’s really not that big. It’s not ideal for three people, sorry for the tight fit.”

Three? “Who’s the other person? I didn’t think women liked you.”

Wilbur scoffed playfully. “Firstly, women _love_ me. Secondly, I don’t have a girlfriend or anything. I invited Phil. He’s really good with feelings and stuff.”

Tommy tried not to be hurt with the implications of that. He knew he shouldn’t take it as Wilbur not wanting to take care of him, because he knew he did. He pushed the thought to the back of his mind, confronted with a more pressing matter. “You told him?”

“I told him something happened, I didn’t specify.”

Tommy let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, relieved. “Okay. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“No, I mean, for everything. For picking me up, for driving three hours, for, I don’t know, being concerned.”

“I’m your friend, Tommy. I care about you. A lot. I want you to be okay, and I know you’re not okay right now. You don’t have to be okay right now. I’m really surprised at how well you’re holding yourself together, actually.”

Tommy didn’t respond, he kept his eyes trained on the pavement in front of him. 

“Driving is the least I can do.”

Tommy wondered what he did in his past life to have such good friends. It was then that he remembered Tubbo. He didn’t think the boy would be too concerned that he called Wilbur and not him, and dropped the subject. 

Wilbur turned to a simple metal door with the number 412 next to it on a sheet of metal. He unlocked and opened the door and let Tommy walk in, before walking up the four flights to his apartment. He made sure Tommy was following him every few steps. When they got to the apartment, Wilbur just opened the door and ushered the blonde in before following, shutting the door behind them and locking it. 

Phil stood from where he was sitting on the couch, his arms open for Tommy to come and hug him. Tommy did.

There was something about Phil in that moment for Tommy. Facing your online-friend-but-basically-second-dad right after your real dad died in front of you? That was enough to break down the dam.

He collapsed into Phil’s arms, the shorter man supporting him and softly consoling him. Tommy didn’t stop crying for a long while, but he had two of his closest friends there with him so he allowed himself to break in front of them. He knew they would still be there when he was done to pick up the pieces.

**Author's Note:**

> this is rushed but eh day 6 done! wanna participate? doesnt matter how late u are! it's a good time :) https://discord.gg/XmqNfG2Q8N
> 
> i'm doing this challenge with @WhimsicalMercy and @leggyman so you should really check them out too because they're wonderful and their writing is mmmm *chefs kiss*


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